Jul 19th, 2017

Author: donich_admin

A bit of Family History

My father’s side of the family are from Cumberland, specifically the area around Walton near Carlisle. While clearing stuff out for their move, my father found the plaque above, which he had salvaged from an old clock many years previously.

It reads “Presented to J Farrer by the members of the Walton Branch of the CETS, on the occasion of his marriage. In recognition of his services and interest in the Cause. March 17th 1892”

The J Farrer in question is my father’s grandfather, Joseph Spottiswood Farrer, who was a very early photographer by profession. I looked up what CETS stood for – and came up with “Church of England Temperance Society”. My father reckons this is correct as his grandfather was a teetotaller all his life – apparently until he was in his 80s and started having a dram of whisky before he went to bed.